Libraries continue to face financial pressures as the number and costs of serials escalate while funding is reduced. We discuss the case of a small library responding to such constraints by eliminating physical-subscription journals of lower value and at the same time enhancing its service to include CD-ROM technology. The study ranked nearly 700 journals according to cost/benefit, where journal benefit (reflecting usage, relevance, and availability) is defined by a weighted sum of subjective and objective factors readily collected from library users and abstracting indices.

The establishment in Troon Public Library, Scotland, by the Marr Educational Trust of an educational resource facility is recounted. The microcomputer hardware and software and audio‐visual resources are described and the nature of the services offered to members of the public explained. The success of the project and role of such a centre within the public library are discussed.